Most Dangerous Jobs in America

Posted By Katz, Leidman, Freund & Herman || 6-Feb-2018

If you’re a logger, pilot or fisherman, you know that working in
remote environments, sometimes far away from civilization increases the
risk of life-threatening accidents on the job. In fact, these occupations
are so dangerous, year after year they remain at the top of the list of
most dangerous jobs in America, and this is demonstrated in the latest
data released by the Bureau of Statistics (BLS) in December of 2017.

In 2016, a total of 5,190 civilian workers died in workplace accidents
– that’s approximately 3.6 fatalities per 100,000 full-time
employees, a 7% increase in deaths from the previous year, which was 4,836 in 2015.

Logging tops the list at #1 with 135.9 fatal accidents per 100,000 workers
in 2016. Ranking in at #2 are fishermen at 86 deaths per 100,000 workers.
Roofers, trash collectors, iron workers, and sales drivers are included
in the list of top 10 most dangerous jobs in America, according to the
2016 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries released by the BLS.

What Was the Most Common Fatal Accident?

The logging and fishing industries may be the most dangerous, but the most common
fatal accident in 2016 involved
transportation fatalities, such as car and truck accidents. “Work injuries involving transportation
incidents remained the most common fatal event in 2016, accounting for
40 percent (2,083),” according to the BLS.

Interestingly, workplace violence and injuries caused by people and animals
increased significantly by 23 percent, in effect becoming the second leading
cause of occupational deaths in 2016. The BLS reported on two other types
of fatal events, which saw large changes and they were “exposure
to harmful substances” and “exposure to harmful environments,”
which increased by a whopping 22 percent in 2016. Fires and explosions
on the other hand, declined sharply at 27 percent.